I had the pleasure recently of receiving a promo for the forthcoming Tears For Fears album Eveybody Loves A Happy Ending. This is the first album in 15 years to feature both Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith, and it is incredible! I don't want to reveal too much, or over-hype, so I'll try to keep this spare.

The album has the heavy Beatles influence that made 1989's The Seeds Of Love so distinctive, but where SOL was Lennonesque, ELAHE takes a page from McCartney. The opening number is infectious and happy to the point of being almost jarring, but the disc spins into Seeds territory soon enough with "Closest Thing To Heaven" (which even samples "Sowing The Seeds Of Love"). The album touches on all those sounds that made TFF such a distinctive sound in the 80s, but it never sounds dated or derivitive. Orzabal and Smith gel in a way they never have before. Their harmonies have never sounded better, and the material here is mature and rich. Standouts like "Call Me Mellow" and Curt's beautiful "Size Of Sorrow" are sure to please all the longtime fans, but won't alienate anyone unfamiliar with their catalog either.

Of course, Smith and Orzabal aren't telling if this is a new beginning for TFF, or if it really is a happy ending. Either way, this is the best album of their career. I really cannot praise this CD enough.

(The album was due to be released in April on Arista, but that companies legal troubles put it into limbo. Recently, the band was set free from their contract, and now it is due to hit stores September 14th on Sony.)



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[This message was edited Thu Jul 1 11:28:07 2004 by JediMaster]

it's about time someone wrote a song about massage therapy.

Anxiety said:

Huh???

eventually, i know SOMEone will get it.

JediMaster said:

A "Happy Ending" is a message that results in the client being "serviced" in more...shall we say, "carnal ways". In other words, the guy gets off.

Anxiety, wheres my prize for getting today useless trivia reference correct?

found1 said:

Your gift certificate is waiting in the lobby.

Ooooookay. I never dreamed that a thread about TFF would be "jacked" like this!

Anxiety said:

JediMaster said:

i'm sorry, i couldn't help myself. i tried to keep it in, but i needed full release.

POOK said:

Wow! That song is in Grand Theft Auto?? That is a classic track from their first album The Hurting. If you like that track, you gotta pick up the album! It also has the classic "Mad World", which was so brilliantly covered for the Donnie Darko soundtrack by Gary Jules!

so, how does it sound compared to roland and curts solo stuff? I really liked Tomcats Screaming Outside

I've been playing this album over and over for the last couple of months and I really love it.

Its a lot better than Rolands "Tomcats" and Curts "Halfway Pleased".In fact, one of the best tracks on "Everybody Loves A Happy Ending" is "Who You are" which is actually a reworking of the track on Curts Demo album.

Go download it, or at the very least, get "Who Killed Tangerine", "The Devils", "Last Days On Earth", and "Killing With Kindness".

TFF have shamelessly ripped the beatles off once again, but it works. The next single is "Call Me Mellow", which is great, but I can't help feeling its borrowed a little too much from The La's "There She Goes".

A great summer album.

More info at the new official site www.tearsforfears.net

SquirrelMeat said:

Agreed. It does have a very summertime feel to it. There really isn't a bad song on the album.